Lisbon, March 20, 2026 (Lusa) – The Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP) have prepared a contingency plan for Lisbon and Faro airports to manage the increase in passenger numbers during Easter, reinforcing these facilities with more police officers and service points.
The PSP, in a response sent to Lusa, said that the plan aims to ensure "average waiting times at passport control, as short as possible, without compromising border security and resilience”.
The plan, which comes into operation next Monday, includes the reinforcement of 30 police officers with border guard training at Lisbon airport, and a temporary reinforcement of 15 officers in Faro.
The police said a new border control zone would be activated at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, maximising manual checks with 10 additional desks and 'e-gates' (automated gates).
The PSP specified that all passenger control positions would be open, supported by "operational coordination with the airports manager, ANA - Airports and AIMA (the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum)”.
The police highlighted that the most "concerning pressure points are at airports with the highest international traffic, specifically Lisbon and Faro, which account for approximately 80% of passenger flow", estimating that, during Easter week alone, around 75,000 passengers could arrive each day.
The interior ministry (MAI), also noted that national airports, particularly those in Lisbon and Faro, typically experience a significant increase in international traffic, “which requires very rigorous management of available human, technological and infrastructure resources”.
“Given that the Easter period is traditionally one of the busiest at Portuguese airports, the PSP has developed a specific contingency plan to mitigate any potential constraints, which should be presented by the end of this week”.
During the Christmas and New Year period, there were several constraints at Lisbon Airport, with passengers having to wait several hours to pass through border control.
These delays led the Government to temporarily suspend the European border control system for non-EU citizens, known as the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES), which is now fully operational again.
"The EES has been gradually reintroduced since the start of the year and is now fully active”, the MAI told Lusa.
The system is being implemented across the EU (European Union) in phases, with full operation across the entire EU scheduled for April.
The PSP police, which inherited border control duties from the now-defunct SEF (Foreigners and Borders Service) in 2023, said that "the phased introduction of the EU's EES is a major operational challenge”.
This new system became operational on 12 October in Portugal and in the other Schengen countries, since then waiting times have worsened, particularly at Lisbon Airport.
The second phase, introduced on 10 December, which involves collecting biometric data (facial images and fingerprints), caused further disruption, mainly at Lisbon Airport.
CMP/MYAL // AYLS
Lusa
